JUNE 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Doctors and nurses will receive a 28% salary rise next year, media quoted health minister Salidat Kairbekova as saying. Medical workers have long complained that they are underpaid, especially since a 20% devaluation of the tenge this year. Nurses in Kazakhstan are currently paid $436/month; doctors $620/month.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The price of a loaf of bread has increased in Pavlodar, north Kazakhstan, to 60 tenge from 47 tenge, media reported. The price rise is just the latest in Kazakhstan. Creeping inflation, triggered by supply line problems and utility price rises, threaten to cause social tension.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 16 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Inflation in Kyrgyzstan will almost certainly double this year to around 8%, Tolkun Abdygulov, head of the Central Bank, said. Increasing inflation could agitate people in Kyrgyzstan. Mr Abdygulov also said that the Central Bank had spent $198m trying to prop up the Kyrgyz national currency.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The price of potatoes in Kazakhstan has roughly doubled because of a shortage, media reported.This is important because food price spikes can generate discontent. Earlier this month, bread price increased in south Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 16 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The price of tickets on Tashkent’s bus, tram, trolleybus and metro systems increased by 20% on June 15 because of a rise in petrol prices, media reported. Petrol prices have been rising across Uzbekistan, frustrating locals. The Uzbek government sets petrol prices.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bread prices in Shymkent increased by around a third overnight to 50 tenge ($0.25) a loaf from 35 tenge, media reported. This is the second bread price spike in south Kazakhstan this year and it could spark protests. Regional government officials blamed bakeries for the price increase.
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(News report from Issue No. 188, published on June 11 2014)
JUNE 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) -Annualised inflation in Georgia slipped back to 2.4% in May, its slowest rate this year, the national statistics agency reported. Compared to April, average prices dropped by 0.3%. Food prices dropped 1.7%. Georgia’s Central Bank is concerned about a generally slowing economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
JUNE 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s government is considering increasing electricity prices for the second year running.
Ara Simonyan, deputy minister for energy, made the omission after questions from parliamentarians who were trying to find out whether rumours of a price increase had any substance.
“The electricity tariffs are not frozen in Armenia and shall be reviewed from time to time. There is no certain decision at the moment,” he said.
Last year the state’s body for regulating electricity prices raised the cost of a kilowatt hour to 38 drams from 30 drams. Now, media has reported, the government is considering putting up prices by another 20% to around 45 drams.
This is important because rising utility prices stirs anger.
Armenians have already vented their frustration this year against proposed changes to the pension system, triggering the downfall of one government. The new government has said that it will look again at the proposed changes which would have meant that people have to put 5% of their income towards their state pension.
Mr Simonyan said hydroelectric stations were unusually dry last year meaning that less electricity was generated and that this meant prices had to rise.
Regardless, if the government does take the decision to increase electricity prices, it could generate public resentment.
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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
MAY 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – TBC Bank is aiming to be the second Georgian company to list on the stock exchange in London. It named a price range for its shares at its proposed IPO at the end of June of between $13 and $16.
This is an important IPO for Georgia and the wider former Soviet Union. For Georgia, TBC Bank will be the first IPO since the end of Mikheil Saakashvili’s era as president. For the wider former Soviet Union, it will test investors’ appetite for buying into the region while the conflict in Ukraine appears to be worsening.
Rival Bank of Georgia floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 and is now part of the FTSE-250.
TBC Bank, valued at nearly $800m, aims to float around 50% of its stock in the IPO. It is the biggest bank in Georgia in terms of retail deposits, with a 33% share of the market.
The TBC floatation will also be a test of how investors view the Georgian economy. It has improved over the last year, partly because relations with Russia have improved, but there are still plenty of weaknesses. Inflation is still stubbornly low and direct foreign investment, so important, is taking some time to pick up again.
Still, with the South Caucasus’ status as a transit region for cargo and energy products between the Caspian Sea and Europe growing, Georgia has experienced an economic re-bound.
The TBC IPO at the end of June will be a good indication of how investors feel about the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 186, published on May 28 2014)
MAY 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s Central Bank cut its key interest rate to 7.25% from 7.5% after data showed that inflation was within its target range, Reuters reported quoting the Central Bank. Annual inflation in April measured 4.4% within the 2.5% to 5.5% bracket.
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(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)
